


Cherry Blossom Sighs

by Oliver__Niko



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Beginnings, Confessions, Crushes, First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23526991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: Akaashi worries that now Bokuto has left school, their friendship will disappear as quickly as these cherry blossoms around them. Little does he realise that it will bloom into more.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Akaashi Keiji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 156





	Cherry Blossom Sighs

**Author's Note:**

> Happy late BokuAka day! I've had a couple of oneshots in mind for these two, and I decided to write this one now that April has swung on by. I hope that you enjoy reading it.

A breeze sweeps cherry blossom petals around the young men’s legs. Their delicacy is as soft as the laugh from the smaller of the two. Soft, sweet, unlike the weight that currently presses down on his heart.

Sadness that brims underneath the joy, cherry blossoms that will soon die away, and the worry that they are not the only thing that will fade.

Even so, that smile still brings butterflies to Akaashi’s stomach, and the smile he gives back is genuine.

“You’re such an idiot sometimes, Bokuto-san.”

“Come on! Anyone would be kept awake wondering how snakes feel about having no arms, surely—”

“No, they wouldn’t. Snakes are used to it. They don’t know any …” Akaashi’s words are swept away by the fingers that hover near his ear. “… different. What are you doing?”

“Cherry blossom,” says Bokuto, holding up the flower, “stuck in your hair. Unless you want it back?”

Akaashi hums absent-mindedly, not truly answering yes or no. He watches as Bokuto blows it out of his hand. The flower is caught by the breeze, blown away from them. And Akaashi realises how much his heart is racing, far from the first time.

“And I _guess_ that’s true. Maybe I feel a bit sorry for them. I mean, they don’t have arms _._ What would _I_ do without arms?”

“Receive balls with your chest instead?”

“Heh.” Bokuto pushes his chest out. “That’s an option.”

Akaashi chuckles. There’s no doubt in his mind that it is.

“Want to get ice cream?” Bokuto asks, gesturing to a kiosk further down the path. Akaashi nods.

“Ice cream at the park always tastes better than any other.”

“Right?!”

Bokuto jogs ahead, Akaashi rolling his eyes with a fond smile as he catches up. By the time he does so, Bokuto is already speaking to the woman at the kiosk, pointing at the pictures on the side.

“Can I please get two ice creams? One with chocolate sauce and sprinkles, the other raspberry and sherbet? Hey, Akaashi,” Bokuto turns to Akaashi now standing behind him, “want a Flake, too? I’m thinking of getting one. Or two …”

“Sure. Just the one, then.”

“In that case, can you put two in the one with chocolate sauce, one in the raspberry? Thank you!”

“Coming right up!”

Akaashi smiles to himself, head slightly lower. The greatest traits Bokuto has are dazzling. They bring stars to Akaashi’s eyes, the sheer talent he possesses brighter than anything Akaashi has ever seen.

He fell instantly. But he’s sure that these little things, something as simple as Bokuto remembering what Akaashi enjoys on vanilla ice cream, are what made him fall harder.

How can something make him this overjoyed, yet crush him all the same?

“Here you go!” Bokuto holds the ice cream out to Akaashi, head tilted slightly. “You okay?”

“Mm? Yeah, I’m fine.” Akaashi takes hold of the tissue wrapped around the ice cream. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

Bokuto shrugs, taking a large bite out of one of the Flakes. His eyes light up. “Oh, I’m _so_ glad I got two.”

“Don’t eat too quickly, you’ll choke,” is what Akaashi says, despite how he has dived straight into his ice cream, Bokuto laughing when his face scrunches up from brain freeze.

The two continue their walk through the park. It’s nice to be outside with the two of them alone. Of course, meeting up with their entire group of friends has brought a lot of joyous memories, but it would be a lie to say that these quiet, simple times are not some of the most cherished at all.

He wonders how much longer it will last. How it won’t be long before Bokuto is rushing off somewhere new for college.

His pace has slowed. Eyes watch Bokuto’s back, how that head lifts to the sky, soaking up rays of spring’s sunshine. Bokuto licking the ice cream with an appreciative sound that courses straight through Akaashi, reminding him of all those laughs of delight, the cheers, every time Bokuto pulls off an impressive move on the court.

Akaashi cannot imagine setting for anyone but him this year.

He cannot imagine watching the blossoms fade away without Bokuto by his side.

“Akaashi?” Bokuto stops walking; it’s only this that tells Akaashi that he has done the same. “Whoa, hey—why are you crying?”

“I’m not …” Akaashi’s spare hand reaches to his face, and his eyes widen when his fingertips touch the unmistakeable wetness of tears. Bokuto is in front of him, concern etched in his face.

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” Bokuto’s hand rubs up and down Akaashi’s arm. “Come on, let’s go sit down, okay?”

Akaashi nods. He manages a smile of amusement as Bokuto shoves the ice cream cone in his mouth, seemingly on a mission, but even that sense of joy is replaced by the fear of it all going away.

Bokuto sits down on a bench, patting the space next to him and scooting up that little further. Akaashi’s eyes are fixed on the ground as he sits down. Arms resting in his lap, ice cream on its way to melting into the tissue that encases it.

“You’ve been off this whole time,” says Bokuto, forever proving how much he understands others’ emotions. “Is there something bothering you?”

“It’s … I love spending time with you, Bokuto-san. I really do. But …”

_But I’m worrying it won’t last. I’m worried that I’m going to be left behind, that you’ll start a whole new life that I don’t fit into._

That he is as fleeting as the petals fluttering past his face.

“Hold on,” says Bokuto slowly. “This is about the school year ending, isn’t it?”

Akaashi’s form becomes smaller. “I don’t … I don’t want you to forget me.”

The moment those words exit him, barely above a whisper, he doesn’t need Bokuto to tell him that’s crying. A sob leaves his throat, and his head bows, spare arm covering his face.

“I’m sorry. It’s stupid, and you have every right to start over somewhere—”

“Keiji, I’m not going to forget about you. I _can’t._ Not with any one of you, but especially not you.”

Akaashi’s arm lowers as he wills himself to bring his attention to Bokuto’s face. Those eyes, those gorgeous, hurting eyes, still smile despite that pain.

“I just … I can’t imagine not going to school, seeing you everyday.” Once the words begin to leave, Akaashi cannot stop them. “You’ve been the light during my time there. You ignited a passion in me that I didn’t know I had, and I … Bokuto-san, I can’t bear the thought of not seeing you anymore. And all I’ve been able to do is count down the days until you’re gone.”

“But I’m not going to be gone.” Bokuto tilts his head. “What would make you think that I would be? Yeah, we won’t be able to see each other as much as we did before, but … I couldn’t just never see you again like that. I’ll be visiting as much as I can.”

“I suppose I just …” Akaashi averts his gaze to the ice cream, which slowly begins to melt over the edge of the cone. A sigh escapes him. “You’re going on to such greater things. Things that outshine me by far. I didn’t know if there’d be space for me there.”

He feels Bokuto edge closer towards him. “I only came this far because of you.”

“Anyone could have set for you.”

“Yeah, but no one could have been there for me in the same way. Are you seriously the only one who doesn’t realise how much you bring the best out of me?”

“Well, I always want to make you the best you can be in matches,” says Akaashi. “And I know I’ve managed to be quite good at that, but—”

“It’s not just the matches.”

Akaashi lifts his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you make me a better person in general. These years with you have been some of the best in my life.” A grin stretches on Bokuto’s face, this time void of his previous sadness. “How could I let that go? How could I let _you_ go?”

“I-I don’t …” Akaashi finds himself aware of how Bokuto has slid close enough for their legs to touch. “I’m so grateful for you, I never thought about how much you care for me in return.”

“It’s easy to be that way, isn’t it? But I promise that nothing will change. Well, maybe not _nothing_ exactly, but I still want you in my life.”

Akaashi finds himself letting out a laugh, speaking words he wants to hold back, immediately regretting them the moment they exit his lips. “Even if you find a girl to fall in love with in college, Bokuto-san?”

It’s horribly selfish for those words to tighten his chest this terribly.

“What?”

“Ignore that. Please. I’m happy to be in your life either way, and that you want me there.”

“No, what do you mean?” Bokuto’s hand strokes over Akaashi’s shoulder when there’s no answer. “Keiji?” Akaashi shakes his head. “I’m not pressuring you. But I want you to tell me.”

“I don’t want to be replaced by someone else.”

“But you specified a girl, not just anyone,” Bokuto says quietly. “If this was about replacing our friendship, you wouldn’t have said that.”

Akaashi swallows, looking at anything but Bokuto. He’s usually the one able to bite his tongue. Why couldn’t he have done so now? It’s already enough that Bokuto wants him there. That in itself should make him happy.

And it does. But the thought of Bokuto being with anyone but him still causes his heart to plummet.

“Do you like me?”

That plummeting heart freezes instead. Akaashi’s eyes blink once, twice, before they’re staring down at the grass by his feet. He’s not sure on what to say. For now, he simply nods. A silence follows.

It almost doesn’t seem silent, because of all the thoughts racing through his head. “I know it’s strange, and I’m sorry,” he says, when even just mere seconds of this become unbearable. “You don’t even like guys, so it’s probably grossed you out, and I shouldn’t have—”

His rambling halts as a hand on his shoulder turns him around. His eyes only have a moment to glance at Bokuto’s face before there are lips against his own.

They blink. Widen. Akaashi’s hands grow limp, the unforgotten ice cream slipping out of his grip and onto the grass. His mind thinks of nothing but Bokuto’s lips on his. And though his body is rigid, not a single muscle moving, this granted wish at least urges him to kiss back as he finally closes his eyes.

Bokuto responds by shifting a little closer. A hand is in Akaashi’s hair, and the world vanishes. He can move again. Trembling hands rest on Bokuto’s shoulders, and he feels Bokuto smile into the kiss.

The spell still lasts once their lips break apart. Akaashi’s hand reaches to his mouth, and he’s only able to appreciate that huge smile given to him for a moment before his gaze drops down.

“You kissed me.”

“Was that a mistake? Should I have held back?” Bokuto’s hands reach for his hair as he straightens up, head back. “God, that was way too forward, I’m sorry!”

“No, no it was fine, I’m just—” Akaashi leans back on the bench, head lowered with his face buried in his hands. “You kissed me.”

“I kissed you.”

“You _kissed_ me _.”_ A pause. Akaashi’s hands lowering slightly, but not enough to reveal his eyes. “Does that mean you like me back?”

Bokuto laughs. “And you called me an idiot! I don’t make a habit of kissing people if I don’t like them too.”

“But that’s just … How?” Akaashi’s head lifts. He feels his face burning. His voice is almost suspicious as he says, “You like girls.”

“Yeah?”

“But you also like me.”

“I can like both.” Bokuto shrugs. “I can like whoever I want. And that’s you. In fact, I’ve been dwelling on how to tell you today.”

Akaashi’s mouth drops open. “Really? B-But that’s …” He laughs under his breath, brushing his hair off his forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to process that this is happening.”

“It’s crazy, right? But I’ve been thinking about the same, and how I can’t bear the thought of us not seeing each other now I’m not in school anymore. That’s when I knew I needed to finally confess to you.” Bokuto reaches for one of the blossoms in the air. “How long have you liked me for?”

“Since first year,” Akaashi says immediately. He feels the heat in his cheeks rise that little more from how quickly he answered. It brings a grin to Bokuto’s face.

“That long, huh?” His voice is a little teasing as he places the blossom behind Akaashi’s ear. The latter hums, wondering how he has not imploded yet.

“What about you?”

“I’ll be honest, I can’t pinpoint it. I think it just happened naturally over time.” Bokuto’s smile softens, made even more beautiful by the faint pink dusting his face. “You still seem in shock.”

“That’s because I am, Bokuto-san.”

“Maybe if I kissed you again, that’d help.”

“Best to try, right?”

Bokuto laughs, soon leaning in for another kiss. Akaashi sighs straight into it. How does no one talk about the _second_ kiss? Reconfirming feelings for one another, thinking you are ready for how sweet it feels, only to realise that it’s still far better than you expect?

It’s practically magic. There are still so many thoughts left in Akaashi’s mind, still in disbelief that this is happening at all, but he allows himself to forget it enough to simply appreciate those lips.

“So, Keiji,” says Bokuto, backing away. “Does this mean you’re my boyfriend now?”

“If you’d like me to be.”

“I do. More than anything.”

“Then yes.” There’s a pause, Akaashi smiling as strands of hair are tucked behind his ear. “It might be difficult.”

“Nah, it’ll be fine. No use fretting over it.” Bokuto’s grin returns. “No matter what happened today, I’d want you to come see how much better I get!”

“I’ll be cheering you on the whole way. Also, sorry about the ice cream.”

“What ice cream? Oh, that,” Bokuto glances at the floor. “No worries. You’re much sweeter.”

Akaashi lets out a sigh. “What have I gotten myself into?”

A hand takes his own, resting on the bench in between them. “Something great?”

Though Akaashi rolls his eyes, leaning back on the bench as he looks up to the bright blue sky above them, it would be impossible to agree more than he does.

He doesn’t realise that he’s shed more tears, this time of the joy and relief that finally settles in, until Bokuto kisses them off his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I'm also posting art for them today, and do so fairly often--feel free to find me on Twitter, Oliver__Niko, if you'd like to. Have a wonderful day!


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